Why I Created The Supervision Companion

When I first began supervising, I found that there were many resources telling me what I was responsible for as a supervisor, but far fewer resources helping me figure out what good supervision actually looked like in practice.

How do you create a relationship that feels safe while still being willing to evaluate competence? How do you give difficult feedback without avoiding it or damaging the supervisory relationship? How do you know when to teach, coach, challenge, reflect, or simply give someone space to work something through? How do you recognize your own biases and the power you hold as a supervisor? What do you do when a supervisee is struggling? And how do you continue evaluating and developing yourself as a supervisor once you have been doing this for years?

There is a substantial body of literature on clinical supervision, but translating that literature into everyday supervisory practice is not always easy.

I created The Supervision Companion to help bridge that gap.

At the center of the Companion is BE • DO • BLOOM, an integrative framework I developed through my research, teaching, supervision experience, and engagement with the broader supervision literature.

BE asks us to consider who we are as supervisors and what we bring into the supervisory relationship.

DO focuses on the intentional practices and responsibilities involved in providing effective supervision.

BLOOM reminds us why we are doing all of this in the first place: to support the ongoing development of supervisees, supervisors, and ultimately the clients and communities we serve.

The Supervision Companion takes those ideas beyond theory. My goal is to create practical, evidence-informed resources that supervisors can actually use, while still encouraging the reflection and professional judgment that good supervision requires.

I do not believe there is one perfect way to supervise. Supervisors and supervisees are different, contexts are different, and supervision needs to change as people develop. I do believe, however, that good supervision should be intentional. We should be able to think about why we are doing what we are doing, recognize when something is not working, and remain willing to learn and grow alongside the people we supervise.

The Supervision Companion grew out of that belief.

It is the resource I would have wanted when I began supervising, and it continues to evolve as I learn more through research, teaching, conversations with other supervisors, and the experience of supervision itself.